Budget . . . 10 days to budget vote!

As the May 16th Budget vote date approaches, the urgency and importance of a strong “yes” vote becomes clearer. I’m going to provide regular (maybe daily if I can) up-dates on the budget vote effort. Let us know your thoughts.

The City PTA, along with many partners and friends – people committed to the children of the City of Albany – are supporting a “yes” vote on the budget. Does this mean we all think everything is perfect in the District and with the budget adopted by the Board of Education? No, it does not. It means we recognize that continued efforts to improve our schools can best move forward if this budget is adopted. The budget provides a framework for our ongoing struggles to make our schools better and to help all of our children experience a high quality education.

A YES vote supports plans to strengthen academic progress, supports small class size, improved security, and is a vote in favor of keeping Albany a vibrant community for all families.

In contrast, a NO vote would possibly result in a “contingency” budget, imposed by operation of law, which would mean cut-backs in services which impact on our children and families, for example, cutting out additional funds for student supplies, school equipment and for public and community access to our school buildings.

A “no” vote on the budget is not an effective strategy to express disagreement or concerns about the District. Coming to Board of Education meetings, participating in the PTAs and other groups active on education issues in Albany – NAACP, Youth Task Force, Citizen Action, Booster Club, Albany Fund For Education, etc. – are all ways to make your voice heard. The budget, on the other hand, either gets voted up or down and a defeated budget is bad news for all of our kids.

Most importantly, a “no” vote would signify that the voters of the City of Albany don’t care about providing a quality education to all of our children. I don’t think that is true, which is, in part, why it is so important that we not let the budget to be defeated.

For those who care about tax rate increases, note that although a contingency budget would result in restrictions and cut-backs and would be demoralizing to our children, families and staff, the difference in the tax-rate increase would be minuscule – approximately 2/10ths of 1%.

I know I will be working hard in the next 10 days to get our budget passed.